IOM will organize today a seminar to celebrate the MIDA FINNSOM projects’ 10-year anniversary. The Finnish Minister for Foreign Trade and Development will open the seminar, followed by two panel discussions about the Somali diaspora experts’ experiences in the project as well as on maternal and child health aspect. The day is to recognize the efforts and give voice to the long-term Somali diaspora participants of the projects. In the event, IOM will also launch a publication about the projects’ milestones and achievements.

In the spirit of the Holiday Season and as an act of Social Responsibility, two Finnish companies donated 100 Finnish Baby Aid Kits to IOM’s MIDA FINNSOM projects. The kits will be distributed in Somalian hospitals where the project’s diaspora experts work in areas of child and neonatal health. The Finnish Baby Aid Kit, a modification of Finland’s famous Maternity Package, includes baby and maternity products, and a basic childbirth kit. Its content is suitable for use in rough conditions.

Migration is the great issue of our era. Migration With Dignity (#WithDignity) is the theme of 2018’s International Migrants Day, which we observe on Tuesday (18 December).

Dignity is at the core of our mission. Treating all migrants with dignity is the fundamental requirement we face before anything else we attempt on migration—a troubling issue coming at a troubling time for the world community—because our future depends on it. So, too, does our present.